Maya cave sites facts for kids
Mayan cave sites are special places linked to the Mayan civilization. The Maya lived in Mesoamerica (parts of modern-day Mexico and Central America) long before Christopher Columbus arrived. Even today, some Mayan communities still hold beliefs and ceremonies connected to these caves.
Many Mayan caves were used for religious purposes. Things found in these caves, like ancient tools or art, help us understand the Mayan religion and how their society worked. Sadly, some Mayan cave sites have been damaged by thieves. Because of this, some important caves, like those at Dos Pilas and Naj Tunich, have been sealed off to protect them.
Contents
Studying Mayan Caves
People have been interested in Mayan caves for a long time. In the 1500s, Spanish writers mentioned 17 Mayan caves and sinkholes (called cenotes). Nine of these have been found by archaeologists. A Spanish friar named Diego de Landa wrote about the famous Sacred Cenote in his book.
Serious study of underground Mayan sites began in the 1980s and 1990s. Today, the Museo Nacional de Antropología leads projects to learn more about these caves. For example, they study ancient cultures in the Puuc Region and the importance of cenotes in Yucatan. In 2008, archaeologists even found a huge underground complex. It had 11 temples, stone roads, and a flooded maze of caves on the Yucatán Peninsula.
Some of the most well-known Mayan caves include Balankanche, Loltun Cave, Actun Tunichil Muknal, and Jolja.
Caves and Mayan Writing
We don't know for sure which symbol in Mayan writing means "cave." However, some experts, like James Brady, think a symbol called "sign entry" or "impinged bone element" might represent a cave. This symbol is read as CH'EN or CH'EEN.
Brady suggests this because:
- The symbol is used in sentences to describe a place you can enter, sit in, or bury someone.
- It looks similar to symbols for death, the underworld, and bats.
- The sound of the symbol ends with "N." In the Mayan language, this sign is part of the verb "OCH-WITZ," which means "Go inside the mountain."
Caves and Settlements
The ancient Maya often chose to live near places they considered sacred. Mountains and caves were very important in their stories about how the world was created. The Maya believed that water meant fertility and new life. Mountains provided flowing water and rain through their caves. Because of this, these natural places were seen as holy. People looking for new homes often searched for areas with caves.
Sometimes, a cave was so important that it was seen as an axis mundi. This means it was believed to be the center of the world or a village. For example, at the ancient city of Mayapan, several cenotes were part of important ceremonial areas. The Cenote Ch’en Mul was right in the middle of the site. At Dos Pilas, houses were often built in front of cave entrances. Tunnels even ran beneath some of the house platforms.
Buildings Like Caves
The Maya often built structures that looked like sacred natural places. For instance, the doorways of temples were sometimes designed to look like cave entrances or the mouths of monsters. The Aztecs also did this.
At a site called Utatlán, the Maya built an artificial cave. It ended under the main plaza and was made to look like a mythical seven-chamber cave called Chicomoztoc. This idea was also seen at Teotihuacan, though the details were a bit different. At Muklebal Tzul, an artificial well under a huge platform was made to look like a cave that held water. In the Yucatan, many temples built later were topped with Spanish churches after the conquest. Caves and cenotes can still be found near these places today.
Gateways to the Underworld
Caves were often seen as entrances to the watery Mayan underworld. For the Maya, life and death happened in special places between this world and the underworld. Caves were linked to both life and death. When something came out of the underworld, it was alive. When something went into the underworld, it died.
Caves were also thought of as birthplaces. The Maya believed that humans and their ancestors were born and lived there. The Maya people of the Yucatan also thought that the sun and moon were born in the underworld.
Caves and Natural Forces
Caves were connected to wind, rain, and clouds. The Zinacantecos people in the Chiapas highlands believed that lightning came from caves. The Yukatek and Lacandon people thought that caves and cenotes were where rain gods lived. In the 16th century, the Yucatec Maya sometimes made offerings to these gods to bring rain.
At Dos Pilas, a cave called Cueva de Murciélagos is located under the royal palace. After heavy rain, water rushes out of this cave. This signaled the start of the rainy season and the time to plant crops. This artificial landscape showed that the king had power over water, rain, and fertility. This helped make his rule seem more legitimate.
Caves were also used in art to show power and high status. For example, pictures of people standing at the mouth of a cave gave them authority. This was often linked to shamanism, which involves spiritual leaders. Images of scribes (people who wrote) often included a skeletal jaw, which looked like a cave mouth. This might mean that writing began in caves. This imagery may have made the scribe's role seem more mysterious and important.
Art and Rituals in Caves
Caves were often linked to transformation. At the Cenote X-Coton, a stone figure shows a person making an offering. This person might be wearing a jaguar's skin, with their human face coming out of its mouth. Besides water and offering rituals, the cenote may have been used for wayob transformations. These were rituals where people might change into animal forms.
Offerings to gods connected to caves were common. These offerings sometimes happened inside the cave, or the item was placed there afterward.
Archaeologists have found caves that were sealed, like the Cueva del Duende. Sealing a cave might have been a way to show conquest or political power. It could also have been part of "termination rituals," which were often done when buildings were finished or abandoned.
Offerings in Caves
Farm products were common offerings in caves. Modern Maya believe that maize (corn) came from beneath the earth. This idea might be shown in old pictures of the Maya maize god coming out of the underworld. This belief gave caves the power to give life. Stories from the Popol Vuh say that humans were made from maize dough. Plants found in lowland caves were probably used in rituals for gods linked to farming. Even today, agricultural products are used in farming rituals by the Maya.
Jade was also a frequent offering in caves. The most jade found at one place was at the Sacred Cenote at Chichen Itza. Metal was a common offering during the Postclassic period (after 900 AD). The largest collections of metal came from the Sacred Cenote and "bell" caves in western Honduras. The story of the Earth Lord having much wealth in his cave might have come from this tradition.
Burials in Caves
It seems that burying important people in caves was rare. However, common people may have used caves as burial places. An example is the Caves Branch Rock Shelter in Belize. So far, only two tomb structures have been found inside caves. One is at Naj Tunich and the other at Quen Santo, both in Guatemala.
Some important family leaders were also buried in caves. Wealthy people could build their own fancy burial "caves." By doing this, they showed their power and status. It seems these important people tried to make their tombs look like natural caves. For example, stalactites (rock formations that hang from cave ceilings) were found at Tomb 2 of Nim Li Punit. This shows they wanted their tombs to look like real caves.
